Development of Computer Software for Seismic Refraction Data Interpretation and Engineering Parameters Determination

Abstract

Aim: Computer software was developed for seismic refraction data interpretation and computation of engineering parameters as a means to ease the problem of cumbersomeness of the manual interpretation of seismic refraction data and computation of engineering parameters by adopting seismic refraction method of investigation. Study Design: Software development. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Applied Geophysics, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria, between June 2010 and February 2011. Methodology: Necessary equations for the program were compiled, and the program algorithms were developed, fed into a computer interpreter, debugged and run. The program algorithm was written with Visual Basic Programming Language and the software was designed using Visual Basic tools. Results: The software accepts and interprete Single On Shot and On and Reverse Shot seismic refraction data for planar and dipping interface. The developed software plots T-X graph and compute the layer velocities and thicknesses. Engineering parameters such as Fracture Frequency (n), Rock Quality Designation (RQD), Bulk and Young modulus and Poisson ratio (σ) which are used in subsurface engineering evaluation can also be computed using the software. Conclusion: Seismic refraction data for both planar and dipping interface were obtained and used in testing the efficiency of the software and the results correlate with that of manual interpretation and computation.